Welcome to the GZ Blog & League Stream Recap!

by Jon_48469 | 2 years ago | 1 Comments

Welcome to the Ground Zero Blog! We'll be using this page to keep you entertained via periodic league updates, features on various users in the league & keep you up to date with all things GZ! 

We're going to kick things off with some game recaps from our first League Stream of Madden 23 that took place last night:

Dolphins @ Ravens: In a game that featured a whole lot of speed and explosive offensive potential, this game turned out to be everything but that as Baltimore out-slugged Miami 18-15 in overtime (much to the dismay of the over 52.5 betters, myself included). Early on, it seemed like we could be in for a shootout as Jaylen Waddle beat man coverage on a simple zig route and sprinted down the sideline for an 83yd touchdown. That turned out to probably be the only exciting offensive play of the game as redzone turnovers and missed opportunities led to a few exchanges of field goals with Justin Tucker drilling one from 50+ yards to send the game into overtime. Miami won the toss in OT, but came up short on a 4th and short from their own 32 as a pass attempt ended up just out of the reach of an open receiver. With a golden opportunity to seal the game, Baltimore was able to push forward a handful of yards before Justin Tucker fittingly ended the game with another field goal. Miami is now 0-2 to start the cycle (both loses coming in OT), and will face off against division rival Buffalo next week as both teams will look to catch that elusive first dub. Baltimore rebounds to 1-1 following the week 1 loss to the Jets and will look to keep the momentum going against New England next week (their 3rd straight AFC East opponent to start the season).

Seahawks @ 49ers: Our second game of the night featured a classic NFC West rivalry between Seattle & San Francisco. A slow first half had us all thinking deja vu before the 49ers defense & special teams made two incredible plays right before the break. Inside the 2min warning in a 7-7 game, San Fran blocked a Seattle field goal attempt and was able to scoop it up and take it to the house. Still in shock, Seattle looked to just hand the ball off and end the half with a positive play, but a massive hit stick from the 49ers defense popped the ball loose from rookie Kenneth Walker and was also returned for the second 49ers touchdown in the span of mere seconds. Seattle used the halftime break to settle down and came out calm, cool & collected. Behind an efficient performance from Drew Lock (15/20, 190yds, 3 TDs, 1 INT), and a stiffeling defense (7 INTs of their own), Seattle was able to claw their way back into the game that came down to the wire. Having been down most of the game, Seattle found themselves up 31-28 with less than 2min to go (for you gamblers out there, the line was Seattle -3.5 so a lot of people were SWEATING). The Seahawk secondary batted down a Trey Lance pass on 4th down to give them the ball in field goal range, looking to ice the game with a 1st down. Three straight runs had Seattle at 4th & 1 with everyone screaming into their screens: KICK THE DAMN BALL! After what felt like an eternity, the play call popped up on the screen and Seattle booted the ball through the uprights to stretch their lead to 34-28. One final pick from Trey Lance and the game was over. San Francisco falls to 1-1 and will head to Mile High next week to face a red hot Denver squad, while Seattle picks up their first win of the year and will welcome Russell Wilson back to Seattle with Atlanta coming to town for a battle of the birds.

Bengals @ Cowboys: Final game of the night was an expected shootout between two 1-0 teams, and boy they didn't disappoint. Coming off a game in which they had four (yes, FOUR!!) pick sixes, Dallas was punched in the mouth early as the Cincinnati defense forced a couple of picks themselves and converted them into points to put the +8.5 underdogs up by double digits. Knowing there was plenty of game left, Dallas remained calm and was able to rattle off 28 straight points to regain the lead and take control. A pivotal drive by the Bengals at the end of the half was capped off with an 18yd strike from Burrow to Boyd, leaving us with a halftime score of 28-21. Cincinnati started the 2nd half with a touchdown to put us right back where we started at 28-28 before Dallas reclaimed the lead with a field goal drive highlighted by an incredible 41yd grab by Dalton Schultz over the middle while getting hit by two defenders. Following a Cincinnati punt, Dallas gave themselves breathing space with a 78yd catch and run by Ceedee Lamb before a 100yd Micah Parsons pick six sealed the victory for the Cowboys, 45-28. Cincinnati falls to 1-1, having beaten AFC North rival Pittsburgh in week 1, and will look to rebound in New York (New Jersey) against the Jets. Dallas keeps things rolling and improves to 2-0, and will join Cincinnati on the flight to the Garden State as they take on the Giants.

Want to help us out with the blog? We're looking for one or two people to come in and help us put some of these out every now and then. If you're interested, or if you have any suggestions/ideas of things we should blog out, let us know!